Spider-Man: Homecoming

There are several big-name critics out there that say superhero movies are too formulaic and shallow to be good. There is some merit to their argument, but really it’s their overflowing ego getting in the way. I was subject to this, I believed Spider-Man: Homecoming would be passably light hearted and fun with no depth of character or struggle; I’m happy to say that I was very surprised. Marvel and 20th Century Fox have both realized that the superhero genre is not stable on its own, and recently with Deadpool being a comedy, Logan being a western, and Spider-Man: Homecoming being a coming-of-age teen movie (which are my three favorite genres), I think they have found out how to jump that hurdle.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was a very enjoyable and comedic movie with fleshed out characters that never dragged the story down. Some jokes seemed a little off in scenes, but I found myself openly laughing throughout, and the characters were never broken when the script fell flat. Michael Keaton’s character was a good antagonist that wasn’t shoe horned in to make a conflict, and his motive was grounded in a way that made him feel real. Tom Holland was great; his performance never strayed and was empowering to watch. Out of all the superheroes in this Marvel hodge-podge of a universe, I can only relate to Spider-Man on a personal level. He was funny, charming, witty, resourceful, and the way the movie showed his every day life made me grinning from ear to ear. The supporting characters were more than just a few quick lines of comedy; every person had an arc and goal that wasn’t blurted out through exposition. Ned (Jacob Batalon) was a riot. He had the best jokes in the movie, and he was the voice of reason to Peter Parker’s reckless living. Jon Favreau, who I wish directed this movie, was just an actor, and he made sure the audience enjoyed it. He had the flattest character, but he still had moments where he shined.

Overall I think it was the acting and writing that made this movie so enjoyable; the directing was average (especially after I had just seen an Edgar Wright movie) and I was a little upset by how simple the shots were. The one thing the director made special was letting the camera roll. There were very long takes in the movie and that made the actors fill the room with their brilliance and gave them the time to make their characters feel real. For a superhero movie, this was a great and refreshing experience. It had a great ending, which I cannot say about Wonder Woman, and Tom Holland was able to stand apart from the crowd even when Michael Keaton was present. I highly recommend seeing this movie, but make sure to save room on your calendar for War for the Planet of the Apes next week. Oh God I’m so excited!

Story Rating: 8/10

Character Rating: 8/10